Teething problems and tensions: Limerick’s first directly elected mayor battles to deliver change
John Moran after his election as mayor of Limerick in June 2024.
Limerick mayor John Moran expected there would be teething problems when he became the first directly elected mayor in the country.
In February came what he described as the “lowest point” since his election. Mr Moran accused some councillors of being “hostile” towards him as he detailed what happened during a seven‑hour meeting, during which he became unwell.
A corporate plan was ultimately passed in his absence — after already being delayed for 12 months due to internal disagreements in the council chamber.
Publishing the revelations on his website, Mr Moran brought a private meeting into the public eye, a move branded as “reflecting badly” on Limerick by arts minister Patrick O’Donovan, yet welcomed by others, such as junior minister Niall Collins.
“I'm a big fan of having public debate. I think that's one of the reasons why I was probably chosen, I'm not subjected to the whip of a party,” Mr Moran told the .
Mr Moran said holding debates in public was a sign of “maturity”, which is why he had pushed for council meetings to be recorded and made publicly available — even offering to have the mayoral fund cover the cost.
“At the end of the day, the public should be influencing what the outcome is,” he said.
The "teething problems" had been growing prior to the corporate plan and mayor’s blogpost.
There had already been closed‑door briefings (including one where JP McManus addressed councillors amid the controversy surrounding the International Rugby Experience), marathon meetings that ran for hours before being adjourned, and accusations that spilled into local media.
For Mr Moran, there was no single flashpoint. Instead, he believes the tensions took root “from the beginning” — the moment an “independent” candidate won the mayoral election.
He described how a small minority of councillors from two “ruling” parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, have “consistently opposed almost every significant initiative” he has brought forward — and how a "strategy" was openly discussed on how to make his role "unbearable".
“Things were not going to be the same as before, and that was uncomfortable for a number of people, but inevitable. That’s actually what people voted for,” he said.
“I could disagree with somebody in any party. If I want to build smart homes and they don't want to, I believe we should have that debate in public.”
Meanwhile, the Government has been urged to initiate a review of Limerick’s directly elected mayoral legislation.
Under section 7 of the Local Government and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024, the Government has to review the effectiveness of the act no later than three years after its establishment.
Last December, private tensions were once again made public as plans for Limerick’s Christmas market highlighted disagreements between the mayor and the council’s director general, Pat Daly.
While Mr Moran’s focus is on proposing the council’s budget and plans from the mayoral programme, such as housing projects, he has to go through the local authority staff resources — with assignments made by Mr Daly.
Mr Moran said functions such as planning enforcement actions should remain with someone who is “not politically elected”.
“That’s really important, otherwise, I could be giving planning permissions to all my supporters and refusing planning to those who didn't vote for me if I could find out who they are. The director general retains the responsibility for what I might call the HR function; they organised how the council is set up,” he said.
Mr Moran claimed the legislation detailing the mayoral function was “confusing”. “When the mayor wants more resources put onto some area and the director general is saying ‘I haven't got any because I'm using them in another area’, that is compounded then.”
One of the “maddest things” that has happened since his election was an “unnecessary” two-hour conversation to send paperwork to Mr Moran's house when he was away.
“I said, ‘Well, can you just have them dropped at my house on the way home from one of the staff members who lives not that far away?’ They wouldn't do it.
“It took my adviser two hours to effectively negotiate a courier to go to the house and what the package would be. That’s just an unnecessary obstacle. We want to be building houses, we want to be building roads.”
Nicknamed the "man with the housing plan" during his election campaign, Mr Moran aimed to have 2,000 modular units built in Limerick by the end of his term in 2029 — requiring funding of €700m.
However, those ambitions were slashed to just 150 units after the Department of Housing decided to reduce staffing, a move Mr Moran says “fundamentally jeopardises the delivery of the programme”.
In a letter obtained by the Mr Moran says funding was urgently needed to “progress these sites in time for the Ryder Cup in 2027”. Eleven potential sites had been identified for the smart homes.
He claimed additional pressure will be put on an “already troubled market” by the time the Ryder Cup takes place in 2027.
“Big sporting events are always a great excuse to get stuff done in time, or faster,” Mr Moran said.
“We’re getting the road done, the railway done, the train station in Adare. These wouldn't be happening if we weren't having a Ryder Cup.
“But also we know that when the Ryder Cup comes to town, there's going to be a significant increase in the number of people living in Limerick for several months before the Ryder Cup, and even a couple of weeks after.
“If we pushed really hard, it would've been possible to have actually delivered maybe 2,000 units by the time the Ryder Cup came into town.”
He admits his housing plan “unfortunately hasn't moved as fast” as he would have liked.
As housing delivery has been “so far below” Limerick’s needs, he has announced he will be conducting a review, with cross-party collaboration, into what could be done to speed up delivery.
A 44‑acre site at Raheen has been selected for a new €14m hospital — Mr Moran believes hospital staff could be housed on adjoining land purchased by the HSE.
“It would be really helpful for employers to get encouraged to do that type of thing for their staff because it helps us as a State in terms of being able to raise money to build the units if we know that there's actually a long-term use of it.
"It’s something that's done by some companies in Dublin.”
Despite the myriad controversies, Mr Moran says he has no intentions of stepping down — even though he was “advised to walk away” amid tensions inside the council.
“Since the event, I've detected a real surge of strength. I'm conscious I made promises to deliver a lot of things. I want to make sure that I've done my best to do that and try as hard as I can.
“It’s like being in a match in a hurling team. When you know you have the supporters behind you, you feel enthused and able to do more.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
